Or this from ESPN at the time:
"Magee also told Post-Gazette staff writer Chuck Finder that West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong, after receiving an inquiry from the Black Coaches Association about minority candidates for the head coaching position, told Magee on Dec. 21 that an interview "wouldn't mean much." Magee said that he replied that he had no interest in "a meaningless interview."...........
They agree on one thing: that Pastilong had no interest in Magee as a head coach.
Pastilong didn't know that Magee had been told he had no chance at the job. All he knew was that he had seen Magee in Ann Arbor. Surely, if Magee believed that he would be a serious candidate at West Virginia, he would have put a move to Michigan on hold.
Pastilong, to his credit, acceded to Magee's request that he be allowed to coach his offense in the Fiesta Bowl.
Magee, to his credit, put aside his disappointment in his old employer and his duties with his new one. He prepared the Mountaineers well enough that they racked up 525 yards in only 58 snaps in a 48-28 rout of Oklahoma.
And yet no one at WVU asked Magee to reconsider. It is unusual that an African-American coordinator didn't become a serious candidate on his own campus, especially in an age when athletic departments hire consultants to find qualified minority candidates.
West Virginia hired consultant Chuck Neinas, who arranged for university administrators to have a phone conversation with Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, an African-American. Locksley told the Chicago Tribune that the call came to gauge his interest and that he never heard from West Virginia again.
Jennifer McIntosh, the executive director of the WVU Office of Social Justice, told the Post-Gazette that the coaching search had been conducted properly. When Finder informed her that the Black Coaches Association had recommended Magee, a minority candidate already on campus, McIntosh said, "Who? I don't know anything about [Magee]."
"Magee also told Post-Gazette staff writer Chuck Finder that West Virginia athletic director Ed Pastilong, after receiving an inquiry from the Black Coaches Association about minority candidates for the head coaching position, told Magee on Dec. 21 that an interview "wouldn't mean much." Magee said that he replied that he had no interest in "a meaningless interview."...........
They agree on one thing: that Pastilong had no interest in Magee as a head coach.
Pastilong didn't know that Magee had been told he had no chance at the job. All he knew was that he had seen Magee in Ann Arbor. Surely, if Magee believed that he would be a serious candidate at West Virginia, he would have put a move to Michigan on hold.
Pastilong, to his credit, acceded to Magee's request that he be allowed to coach his offense in the Fiesta Bowl.
Magee, to his credit, put aside his disappointment in his old employer and his duties with his new one. He prepared the Mountaineers well enough that they racked up 525 yards in only 58 snaps in a 48-28 rout of Oklahoma.
And yet no one at WVU asked Magee to reconsider. It is unusual that an African-American coordinator didn't become a serious candidate on his own campus, especially in an age when athletic departments hire consultants to find qualified minority candidates.
West Virginia hired consultant Chuck Neinas, who arranged for university administrators to have a phone conversation with Illinois offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, an African-American. Locksley told the Chicago Tribune that the call came to gauge his interest and that he never heard from West Virginia again.
Jennifer McIntosh, the executive director of the WVU Office of Social Justice, told the Post-Gazette that the coaching search had been conducted properly. When Finder informed her that the Black Coaches Association had recommended Magee, a minority candidate already on campus, McIntosh said, "Who? I don't know anything about [Magee]."